DALLAS-FORT WORTH - North Texas apartment construction more than doubled in second quarter from the first three months of 2015.

Net leasing totaled 7,881 apartments. In addition, 11,429 units were leased in the first half of the year — up 26 percent from the same period in 2014, according to just-released numbers from MPF Research.

Less than 5 percent of Dallas-Fort Worth apartments are vacant. Vacancy levels fell even though developers opened almost 5,000 new apartments in second quarter.

With the strong leasing and high occupancies, landlords bumped up rents by 5.5 percent from a year ago.

An average DFW apartment now goes for $952 a month and the newest apartments average almost $1,400 citywide, according to MPF Research. In popular rental districts in Dallas’ Uptown, downtown and other close-in markets, new apartments are fetching an average of $1,800 a month.

More than 35,500 apartments are currently under construction in North Texas, the highest building totals in three decades.